By Saul Ruiz
EL CAJON, CALIF. — Gallery Director Alex DeCosta and Arab Club Advisor Noha Ireiqat have collaborated to create an exhibit in the Hyde Art Gallery at Grossmont College, one which encapsulates the history of Palestine and the people that lived there through framed photographs.
The exhibit, “A Walk Through Palestine,” is currently on display and will be from May 15 to June 30 and will be viewable on the exterior window display of Building 22, the Performing and Visual Arts center. Reception for the exhibit will be held on May 20, during which the gallery will allow guests to enter the window display and view the photographs from a closer standpoint.
“A Walk Through Palestine” originated when Ireiqat expressed a passion to create and encapsulate what Palestine was before the conflicts that began in 1948. The photographs show trains, bands, schoolchildren, and communities of both arab and jewish descent living in the country of Palestine.
DeCosta shared that it snowballed from acquiring a book of photographs to selecting and framing approximately 30 to be displayed in the exhibit.
“Noha really spearheaded [the process] because she’s Palestinian so she’s very passionate about this project,” DeCosta said, “she really wants to see these photographs be shown.”
When people think of Palestine, they think of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which total to about 6,020 square kilometers of land. The photographs of the exhibit show us Palestine when it was five times larger than what we see now, approximately 25,600 square kilometers. One may ask how it got to such a point.
During World War II, many Jewish immigrants fled to various European and western countries under the threat of the state of Germany at the time. A large population of Jews also immigrated to the middle eastern country of Palestine. In late 1947, the United Nations, UN, passed Resolution 181, which pushed for the partition of Palestine’s land to be divided into independent states between the Jewish and the Arab Palestine, including an internationalized Jerusalem. In 1948 Israel declared itself an independent state, inciting a war between the Arab and Jewish populations, culminating in Israel claiming more than half of Palestine, continuous expansion of the Israeli state has occurred since then.
The issues relating to the relationship between Palestine and Israel have been brought to light in recent times, inciting infighting amongst people who are supportive of either country and where they stand on the conflict. As such, when people hear the names of Palestine and Israel, there is a large connection to war and international conflict.
“A Walk Through Palestine” is an exhibit that aims to change people’s perspective on the setting of a major ongoing conflict. The photographs displayed allow the audience to look back on a country that was abundant, culturally rich, and diverse. One may find a mixture of Arab and Jewish representation in the exhibit, showing a prosperous country where the general consensus within the times that Arab and Jewish people thrived together, as they once shared the land and culture.
DeCosta spoke on how easy it is to be disconnected from a group one fails to identify with. That the country’s history with the middle east has led to a lack of empathy towards middle easter, arab, and muslim populations. DeCosta stated his aim with the exhibit was: “to kind of move past the political lens that we view Palestine and Israel through, and realize that the history there goes beyond the establishment of Israel.”
Grossmont students, faculty, and the general populus alike are all welcome to come and tap into images of the past in the exhibit as it is currently on display at the Hyde Art Gallery in Building 22. “A Walk Through Palestine” encapsulates a place that deserves to be seen past the telescope of conflict.For additional information on the exhibit, which runs through June 30, one can contact Alex DeCosta alex.decosta@gcccd.edu for exhibit information.
